A still from Meet Me in the Bathroom by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Rebecca Greenfield.
For indie rock fans of a certain vintage, there is something incredibly warm and inviting about reflecting on the heyday of the genre at the turn of the new millennium. As rap-rock and soulless pop music reigned supreme on the radio and MTV, a new generation of rock pioneers were preparing for their own bit of musical revolution in the depths of New York City. One of first clips we see in Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace’s documentary Meet Me In The Bathroom, inspired by a book of the same name by Lizzy Goodman, is that of indie rock badass Karen O discussing her love of Dirty Dancing. It’s a minor moment, but the relatability of being an outsider who reshapes their image in a new context is one of the few recurring themes in this film. Following the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes and more, Meet Me In The Bathroom provides a nostalgic look at some of the stalwarts of this scene that is destined to play better for established fans more than newcomers.
Through the use of ample archival footage, concert clips, and voice-over narration, this directing duo provides a broad overview of the scene filled with great nuggets of information that can struggle to breathe in the slightly unfocused structure. Early portions of the film focuses on the grimy coalescence of the scene in venues such as the Sidewalk Cafe where groups like The Moldy Peaches gained a reputation in the anti-folk movement. Home movies of members Kimya Dawson and Adam Green practicing and developing their distinct, often audibly abrasive tunes juxtapose the safety net of a financially secure family structure politely encouraging them from the hallway.
This is something we would see magnified with the ascendency of their friends, The Strokes. While frontman Julian Casablancas was playing the role of nervous cool boy, he was also wrestling with a quick rocket to fame that would pull him back into the spotlight he had shied away from as the son of iconic modeling agent John Casablancas. Thankfully, Julian navigated the push-and-pull of his calling more deftly than contemporary Dash Snow, a New York City artist from roughly the same period recently documented in Moments Like This Never Last. While most at home in a grimy New York club, the ravenous following leads the band across the pond for a European tour and eventually a handful of MTV appearances that leave relationships strained. You feel the slightly dejected nature of Casablancas when he says, “if I heard about a band like us, I’d think they were assholes.”
There are many bands that would kill for a career like The Strokes. A good amount of time is dedicated to the Charlie Brown qualities of the seemingly more buttoned-up boys in Interpol. Their struggles are less tragic knowing that they themselves have gained a substantial following of fans around the globe and have an output that surpasses The Strokes in many respects. In the moment, though, leader Paul Banks and the rest of the band get a healthy dose of reality that a rising tide does not lift all ships. While The Strokes are on a whirlwind publicity tour across Europe with sold out dates as fast as they can add them, Interpol struggles to get more than a smattering of people to attend their European jaunt. Their next significant blow comes months before the release of their sophomore album as a little website called Napster leaks the finished effort for everyone to consume.
This file sharing website hits another creative quite hard, but provides an unexpected artistic spark. James Murphy was a bit of an older presence in these circles best known as one of the producers you wanted on your side. The malaise of the shifting scene was channeled into his first work under the moniker LCD Soundsystem, a project that is no stranger to these filmmakers who crafted the doc Shut Up and Play the Hits chronicling the band’s “farewell” show in 2012. Murphy provides a slightly different perspective as both a creative himself and as a co-founder of DFA Records. This was a time when major labels were starting to feel the winds shifting towards this sound which often led to them quickly luring promising baby artists to the majors only to have their creativity drained from them. The struggle between major label access and indie label freedom is a fight that bands continue to fight until this day.
One of the shortcomings of this feature is the over reliance on focusing on straight white men, especially when the scene had so many intriguing voices. As with any portrait of early 2000s New York City, there comes the point when the impact of 9/11 must be addressed. This act of terror not only left residents shaken and in need of an artistic outlet, but it drove down the cost of living in the city allowing more of a level playing field than had been observed in some time.
The film devotes a very brief portion to one of the most brilliant products of this environment, TV On the Radio. This primarily Black band may be among the most successful of the diverse voices from this scene and era, but they are far from the only ones. Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe (Rachel Getting Married, Spider-Man: Homecoming) reveals a brief anecdote about the guilt he felt over telling his Nigerian immigrant parents that he wanted to be an artist. The theme of being an outsider is intensified in this respect as culture clashes enmesh with artistic pursuits. This core idea of making space in this highly White arena is much more interesting than many threads that are given more air. This is only slightly ameliorated by the inclusion of early footage of a performance of “Ambulance” that is a treasure for fans.
When the film does lean into these unique perspectives, it feels incredibly vital. The Korean-Polish American indie icon Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs helped blaze a trail for frontwomen, one that was often lonely and full of obstacles. From their early days opening for The White Stripes to the unpredictable headlining sets where O sacrificed her safety for the audience, the film showcases some truly unbelievable moments. Yet, as all of this was happening, she was subjected to predatory behavior from “fans” and inappropriate questions from the media. The differences between the on-stage persona of Karen O and the real-life Karen Lee Orzolek are vast, and the context she provides to her mental state at this time breaks your heart. This culminates in the best sequence of the film, an outtake of a performance of “Maps” that keeps tight on her face and all the emotion emanating from it.
Meet Me In The Bathroom is a really enjoyable look back at some formative years in the New York music scene that established fans will eat up. The transitions between the core threads these filmmakers are juggling throughout can be a bit clumsy, but it jives well with the down-and-dirty aesthetic of the subjects. While it is easy to fixate on some of the stories we could have gotten in a perfect world, the truth is that this scene is very expansive and not all personal favorites are going to make the cut. For a broad overview of some of the more notable elements of this time, it more than gets the job done. Neophytes will likely wonder what all the fuss is about while devotees will be clamoring for an extended cut.
Meet Me In The Bathroom had its World Premiere in the Midnight section of Sundance Film Festival 2022.
Directors: Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace
Rated: NR
Runtime: 105m
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
